Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

Rory McIlroy watches his approach shot on the first hole, named Tea Olive, during the 2014 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. The par-4, 445-yard hole has a slight dogleg right that plays uphill. Andrew Redington, Getty Images

The fifth hole, called Magnolia at Augusta National Golf Club, is a par-4 at 455 yards. Here Adam Hadwin walks with his caddie during a practice round before the 2017 Masters. Andrew Redington, Getty Images

Pampas, the seventh hole at Augusta National, is a par-4 of 450 yards. There are three bunkers placed in front of the green and two behind. Here Angel Cabrera hits his approach shot as Rory McIlroy looks on in 2011. Harry How, Getty Images

The ninth hole, called Carolina Cherry, at Augusta National Golf Club is known for its green that slopes from back to front. Here Tiger Woods putts on the ninth green during 2012. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Spieth putts on the 10th green during the 80th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in 2016. Called "Camellia," the par-4, 495-yard hole features a 60-yard bunker short of the green. Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images

No. 12 is the shortest par-3 at Augusta National at 155 yards. Called the Golden Bell, the hole has a narrow green and Rae's Creek to the side. Here Charl Schwartzel hits out of a bunker on the 12th hole during the 2014 Masters. Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports

Tiger Woods bounces a golf ball on his putter on the 13th green during practice rounds for the 2007 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Called Azalea, it's a par-5, 510-yard hole with the Byron Nelson Bridge located just off the tee. Eileen Blass, USA TODAY Sports

Gary Woodland waits to hit his tee shot on the 14th hole during the 2014 Masters. The 14th hole, called Chinese Fir, is a 440-yard, par-4. It's bunkerless with a terraced putting surface that drops off. Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports

Jack Nicklaus watches his putt drop for a birdie on the 17th hole at Augusta National en route to winning the 1986 Masters, the sixth time he won the green jacket. Called Nandina, it's a par-4, 440-yard hole. Phil Sandlin, Associated Press

Tiger Woods walks off the 18th green after winning his fourth Masters in 2005 at Augusta National Golf Club. An uphill dogleg right, the final hole called Holly is a par-4 of 465 yards. Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Sports

AUGUSTA, Ga. – When people find out I’m covering the Masters Tournament, almost invariably they ask, after volunteering to carry my laptop or stow away in the trunk of my rental car, “So, what’s it like at Augusta National?”

What’s it like. Impossible to answer in a sentence or two. Difficult to answer in a 1,000-word column.

In a nutshell, the Masters is the best-run event in sports, played in an impossibly beautiful setting, steeped in tradition and drenched in Southern charm. It is rooted in the past, sometimes awkwardly so, and yet in some ways it is ahead of its time. Rules must be followed, by players and patrons, but even when no is the answer, as it often is, the accompanying smile is warm and sincere.

It is a place of dichotomies. No cell phones are allowed on the golf course, but the “press building” (i.e. media center) is a marvel of 21st century technology. Spectators cannot run on the course, yell “You da man!” or hold up banners or signs, but they are treated as guests and not dollar signs.

While plenty of price-gouging goes on in Augusta – the $275-a-night, five-night minimum stay for a no-star motel is par for the course – the tournament provides free parking, free daily pairing sheets and cheap concessions, including the signature pimento cheese sandwich for $1.50.

Of course, getting in is the hard part. The Masters is among the toughest tickets in sports, with daily badges selling on the secondary market for $1,500 or more.

Augusta National, built on a former nursery, dazzles the senses. It looks like a Monet and smells like spring. Maybe because most of the country is shaking off the drab shades of winter, the colors seem almost artificially enhanced. The impeccably maintained turf is an iridescent shade of green, the bunker sand blindingly white. The blooming azaleas add spectacular splashes of pink in Amen Corner, which, like the Grand Canyon or a Dustin Johnson drive, must be seen to be appreciated.

My favorite spot on the course is the stand of pines between the second and third holes. I can watch players hit their second shots into No. 2, walk a few yards to the third green to watch approaches and putts and then turn around and watch tee shots on the par-3 fourth.

Two-time Masters Champion Bubba Watson hits from the pine straw in the shadows on the 13th hole during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National GC. Michael Madrid, USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Spieth looks at his yardage book as he walks over the Nelson Bridge on the 13th hole during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National GC. Rob Schumacher, USA TODAY Sports

The flagstick on the seventh green flutters as patrons cross the seventh fairway in the distance during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National GC. Michael Madrid, USA TODAY Sports

Three-time Masters champion Gary Player lifts Vanessa Borovilos of Toronto who won the 10-11 girls chip competition during the finals of the Drive, Chip & Putt competition at Augusta National GC. At left is 2008 Masters Champion Trevor Immelmann of South Africa. Michael Madrid, USA TODAY Sports

Jensi Krampel of Naples, Fla poses with Joe Ford of Augusta National with her third place trophy in the 7-9 Girls group during the finals of the Drive, Chip & Putt competition at Augusta National GC. Michael Madrid, USA TODAY Sports

The Masters Tournament is run by the club to exacting standards. Only players and caddies are allowed inside the gallery ropes, so there is no disorganized entourage of TV cable-draggers, shorts-wearing media members, scorers and rules officials to spoil the visual or distract the player. The cellphone dictum and ticket policies are militantly enforced.

Although some players have likened playing in the Masters to walking on eggshells, there’s not a golfer in the world who doesn’t want to be here the first full week of April. An invitational, the Masters is the hardest major championship to get into but the easiest to win because the field is small and there are amateurs and aging former champions who have no chance.

“I love everything about this place, from the patrons to the members to how it’s run,” said three-time champion Phil Mickelson. “All the little idiosyncracies of this club that are different, that can be difficult or challenging at times, I’ve come to kind of love and appreciate.”

The tournament’s rich history includes some of golf's most memorable moments: Gene Sarazen’s shot heard ‘round the world in 1935 … Roberto DiVicenzo’s unfortunate scorecard blunder in ’68 … Arnold Palmer’s four victories in a seven-year span. … Jack Nicklaus’ sixth title in ’86 … Tiger Woods’ momentous victory in ’97.

Past champions are revered here, and the ceremonial tee shot on Thursday morning to start the tournament – this year it’s Nicklaus and ageless wonder Gary Player hitting drives off the first tee – is just one of many traditions that makes the Masters special.

But it’s the little things that I’ve come to appreciate over the 27 years I have covered the tournament.

For instance, I have yet to encounter an ill-mannered employee. Ever. Customer service, at the concession stands and the entrance gates, in the wondrous new merchandise building and on the course itself, is beyond reproach. Whatever the club does to train staff, it’s the gold standard.

A friend, an older gentleman who stopped by the press building one year to say hi, took a spill and instantly was surrounded by caring staff members who insisted on a quick medical check-up. One year, I watched a few people trip over an exposed tree root to the right of the No. 1 fairway; marshals placed a trash receptacle over the offending root and the next day it was gone – the receptacle, and the root.

I am not suggesting Augusta National is perfect. The club, which consists of multimillionaires who zealously guard their privacy, has lagged painfully and embarrassingly behind on social issues. The first black member was admitted in 1990 and it wasn’t until 2012 that females were allowed to join the club. Lee Trevino, the great Mexican-American golfer, never felt comfortable here and changed his shoes in the parking lot, refusing to set foot in the clubhouse.

Yet under progressive former chairman Billy Payne, the members took the lead on grow-the-game initiatives, including the Drive, Chip and Putt contest for young golfers and amateur championships in Asia and Latin America, with the winners invited to the Masters.

On Wednesday, first-year chairman Fred Ridley announced the establishment of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship, which will bring the top 72 players in the world to Augusta starting in 2019, with the final round being played the Saturday before the Masters. This is an important development for women's golf, and for the game in general.

As a young sportswriter working at a small daily newspaper in Freeport, Ill., in the late 1970s, never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d get to cover one Masters, let alone 27 of them. It’s my favorite week of the year and an assignment I don’t take for granted.

I walked up the fairway on No. 1 the other day and thought about my run of good fortune. If this isn’t my last Masters, well, the end is near. And just like anyone who is lucky enough to visit Augusta National, I’m going to savor every minute of it.

After paring the first hole in a sudden-death playoff with Louis Oosthuizen in 2012, Watson's drive landed deep in the woods on pine straw without a clear shot to the green. Watson then hit an incredible recovery shot with 40 yards of hook and landed the ball within 15 feet of the hole. He'd win the hole, and the Masters. Streeter Lecka, Getty Images

Holding a one-shot lead on Sunday in 2010, Phil Mickelson hit his tee shot into the pine needles and behind a tree off the fairway on the 13th hole. He grabbed a 6-iron and stuck it four feet from the hole. He missed the eagle putt, but tapped in the birdie to take a two-shot lead en route to his third Masters win. David Cannon, Getty Images

When Jack Nicklaus hit his tee shot on the par-3 16th hole at the 1986 Masters with his eldest son as his caddie, Jack Jr. said "be right." Nicklaus picked up his tee and said "it is." Nicklaus birdied the hole en route to his 18th and final major. Brian Morgan, Getty Images

Greg Norman was tied for the lead at seven-under par as he made the turn in 1996's final round. He double-bogeyed the 10th and seemed out of contention. He then birdied 14, 15, 16 and 17 to pull within one shot of the lead. On 18, he hit his approach shot into the gallery and missed his par putt to finish one stroke back. Dave Martin, Associated Press